1. Field
Embodiments relate to a water dispenser.
2. Background
A water dispenser is a device that provides drinking water to users. Water dispensers may dispense purified water by removing materials included in raw water, such as, e.g., tap water or underground water, through various water purification methods such as precipitation or settlement, filtering, and sterilization. A water discharger may be provided in a main body of a water dispenser to provide purified water to a user.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a related art water dispenser. Referring to FIG. 1, a coupling hole 11 may be formed on an upper end portion of a main body 10, and a water discharger 20 may be coupled to the upper end portion of a main body 10 through the coupling hole 11. A plurality of recess portions 11a may be spaced apart from one another at an angle of 90° in a circumferential direction of the coupling hole 11. The water discharger 20 may have a plurality of positioners 25a that protrude and may be spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction of an outer circumferential surface of a coupling column 25. As the positioners 25a are coupled to the recess portions 11a, the water discharger 20 may be rotated in a clockwise direction or counterclockwise direction at a set angle so as to be fixed.
A plurality of coupling housings 13 may be spaced apart from one another at an angle of 90° such that a water trap 30 may be coupled to a lower portion of the main body 10. The water trap 30 may have a protrusion 31 that protrudes from a back of a water trap housing. When the protrusion 31 is inserted into an interior of the coupling housing 13 and rotated in a clockwise direction or counterclockwise direction, the water trap 30 may be fixed.
The water discharger 20 and the water trap 30 may be detachably coupled to upper and lower portions of the main body 10, respectively. The user may change a position from which water is discharged as desired, and the water dispenser may be installed without spatial restrictions. Such a water dispenser may have a few problems.
In order to change a direction of the water discharger 21 or the water trap 30, for example, from a forward/backward direction of the main body 10 to a horizontal direction, the water discharger 20 or the water trap 30 may need to be separated from the main body 10 and subsequently reassembled, which may be inconvenient. Unless the recess portion 11a formed on an upper portion of the main body 10 and the positioner 25a of the water discharger 20 are separated from each other, the water discharger 20 may not be freely rotated. When the water discharger 20 is rotated, the user may feel that the positioner 25a may be caught by or on the recess portion 11a. 
The water discharger 20 may include a first water discharge pipe 22 connected to a water discharge port 21 and horizontally provided, a second water discharge pipe 24 connected to a water purification filter installed within the main body 10 and vertically provided, and a pipe fitting 23 that connects the first and second water discharge pipes 22 and 24. An O-ring may be provided within the pipe fitting 23 to maintain airtightness between the pipe fitting 23 and the water discharge pipes 22 and 24. The first and second water discharge pipes 22 and 24 may be formed of the same type of material, for example, an ABS resin material.
When the water discharger 20 is rotated and the water discharge pipes 22 and 24 formed of the same material are connected to each other, the first water discharge pipe 22 and the pipe fitting 23 may be rotated together with the second water discharge pipe 24 fixed, and the O-ring installed in the pipe fitting 23 may make a frictional contact with the fixed second water discharge pipe 24 as it is rotated. This may abrade the O-ring and cause water leakage between the second water discharge pipe 24 and the pipe fitting 23.
Korean Patent Registration No. 1381803, registered on Mar. 31, 2014, provides a water purifier, and is incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.